Mitigation Banking—A Balance of Interests

Mitigation projects are generally conducted on an independent basis. Each time a prospective developer applies for a 404 permit to fill coastal wetlands, he must submit to a lengthy mitigation negotiation process to hammer out a mitigation plan that satisfies the requirements for that particular project. Developers feel this traditional mitigation process is too costly in terms of time and money. Regulatory personnel, on the other hand, are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs because of the disparity between mitigation as it appears on paper and mitigation as it results in the field. The potential for mitigation banking to address some of these problems is discussed.